Have you ever suspected that someone outside of erotica was "inspired" by your characters?

[ShelbyDawn57]

I've been playing with an epic fantasy novel for several years, and wrote this line quite a while ago. The scene involves a fight with a rather large and angry rock troll.

Sprinting with all I had, I jumped to where Tyrial was, catching him just before he dropped to the ground to join Kraken, “Throw me,” I handed him my bow and few remaining arrows, “at his head, throw me!” ...


Imagine my surprise when Galadriel fights the ice troll in season one of Rings of Power...

 

[KittyOfSteele]

If you are pursuing any creative endeavor (writing, painting, costume making, whatever) read "Steal Like An Artist".
Seriously, stop what your doing, get the book, and read it.

The author clearly & succinctly communicates what my high school art teacher absolutely sucked at saying.
As in "sucked so bad I hated art for more than a decade".

If you liked Steal Like an Artist, might I suggest watching this documentary as well?

 

[MrHereWriting]

An online search shows that the earliest use of this quote was from November 1929 by a history professor at Yale. No doubt it was repeated over the decades and GRRM picked up on it (assuming GRRM actually said it, you don't provide a source). But don't let me get in your way of posting one falsehood after another.

55:16, he says, "I steal from the best, like Shakespeare..." so put your righteousness away for this conversation. That's even worse. He just flat out said he "steals from the best."
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AI Overview

• In general discussions about writing and influence: Martin has frequently acknowledged that all authors draw inspiration from history and other works. He is widely cited for the quote: "If you steal from one person, that's plagiarism; if you steal from many, that's research". This quote reflects his view on the difference between copying specific text and drawing general archetypes and ideas from a wide range of sources, such as history and mythology, which he does extensively in his own writing. He has also mentioned being accused of "unintentionally copying" plot points from video games he's never heard of, a phenomenon he attributes to general similarities that happen accidentally all the time.

These discussions span a period of over a decade, but his most prominent and recent comments regarding copyright infringement (a form of plagiarism) are related to the ongoing AI lawsuit that began in the fall of 2023.

Other Mentions
Martin has also been cited with a well-known quote regarding the distinction between inspiration and theft: "If you steal from one person, that's plagiarism. If you steal from many, that's research". The exact origin or date of this specific quote's first utterance by Martin is less clear, but it reflects his general view on drawing inspiration from diverse sources, particularly history and mythology.


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https://blog.scanmyessay.com/2019/05/12/is-game-of-thrones-plagiarised/
The phenomenon of plagiarism is not something that just affects the academic world. Plagiarism is also something that is sometimes an issue in popular culture. George R.R. Martin’s globally renowned novel and TV series Game of Thrones has recently been accused of stealing other people’s ideas. However, in response to these accusations, Martin stated on Twitter that:

“If you steal from one person it’s plagiarism, if you steal from a hundred people it’s research… I do a lot of research”.
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Isn't it funny that George R.R. Martin doesn't even use an original quote? Now, whether he said it or not, I don't care, but you'll have less stress in your life if you can understand the difference between a joke and an insult.

 

[caleb35]

... wait a minute... did you just copy-paste AN AI OVERVIEW from online search results?? And you think that's 100% accurate?

Also, you found one single blog entry from some schmo over six years ago accusing GRRM of plagiarism -- a charge that has not been picked up or repeated by any notable news source since then -- and you're using that to say that GRRM is a thief. I'm not persuaded.

Lastly, the TV series was called Game of Thrones. The book series is titled A Song of Ice and Fire.

Don't accuse me of righteousness when you're slinging dirt and don't get mad just because I'm calling you out on your bullshit.

 

[MrHereWriting]

... wait a minute... did you just copy-paste AN AI OVERVIEW from online search results?? And you think that's 100% accurate?

Also, you found one single blog entry from some schmo over six years ago accusing GRRM of plagiarism -- a charge that has not been picked up or repeated by any notable news source since then -- and you're using that to say that GRRM is a thief. I'm not persuaded.

Lastly, the TV series was called Game of Thrones. The book series is titled A Song of Ice and Fire.

Don't accuse me of righteousness when you're slinging dirt and don't get mad just because I'm calling you out on your bullshit.

I also posted a YouTube video where he says "I steal from the best, like Shakespeare."

 

[StillStunned]

GRRM has cited the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon as his inspiration for ASOIAF, and has mentioned the Wars of the Roses as well.

Being inspired by other works - don't we all do that? There are no new stories, after all. And it's jokingly called stealing if we spot something that we want to incorporate into our stories.

It's only plagiarism if you copy the text wholesale. Otherwise, at the worst, your story will be called "derivative" - like Shannara has been called derivative for nearly 50 years.

 

[iwatchus]

like Shannara has been called derivative for nearly 50 years.

I just call it awful.

 

[Duleigh]

If you like MST3K, it was fun.

The Conqueror, 1956. "There are moments for action, then I listen to my blood. I feel this tartar woman is for me. My blood says take her!" Imagine a very drunk Duke delivering that line. Rita Hayward as a Tatar princess. Paiute extras playing the Mongol soldiers.

--Annie

I saw that movie! Their performance was Radioactive!!!

What - too soon?

 

[Britva415]

GRRM has cited the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon as his inspiration for ASOIAF, and has mentioned the Wars of the Roses as well.

Being inspired by other works - don't we all do that? There are no new stories, after all. And it's jokingly called stealing if we spot something that we want to incorporate into our stories.

It's only plagiarism if you copy the text wholesale. Otherwise, at the worst, your story will be called "derivative" - like Shannara has been called derivative for nearly 50 years.

"This overly weighty tome was excessively derivative of a classic of the genre: The Lancaster-York civil wars."

 

[KittyOfSteele]

GRRM has cited the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon as his inspiration for ASOIAF, and has mentioned the Wars of the Roses as well.

Being inspired by other works - don't we all do that? There are no new stories, after all. And it's jokingly called stealing if we spot something that we want to incorporate into our stories.

It's only plagiarism if you copy the text wholesale. Otherwise, at the worst, your story will be called "derivative" - like Shannara has been called derivative for nearly 50 years.

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." - Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Motherfucking Picasso, allegedly. Also Steve Jobs, apparently.

I don't know why GRRM had to add more words, but okay.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." - Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Motherfucking Picasso, allegedly. Also Steve Jobs, apparently.

I don't know why GRRM had to add more words, but okay.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

View attachment 2579747

Lincoln, allegedly. Also everybody, apparently.

Also, hfggkdfsgyutkyujk. Apparently every single cat on the Internet. Maybe one of those were made out of steel. Allegedly.

 

[TheLobster]

I don't know why GRRM had to add more words, but okay.

Maybe it irked him that the quote itself is so short compared to the name of its author.